title: Burn care costing: the Welsh experience.
abstract: It has been accepted for many years that the cost of care for the burn-injured patient is high. There is, however, little published data to show how "expensive" it is. At the Welsh Centre for burns we have undertaken a costing exercise in an attempt to define the true cost to the treatment of burns. Using our current cost base and activity, we established a cost per health related group (HRG) for burns and also prospectively calculated costs for three inpatients to determine whether HRG-based burn tariffs accurately represent these costs. The NHS is under increasing pressure to provide evidence to support budgetary requirements; we feel this paper offers a framework for burn care costing upon which calculations could be based.
authors.affiliation: Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery, Morriston Hospital, Morriston, Swansea, United Kingdom. sgorse@doctors.org.uk
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hemington-Gorse
authors.forename: Tom S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Potokar
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Drew
authors.forename: William A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Dickson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002053:Burn Units / Q000191:economics*; D002056:Burns / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003422:Critical Care / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018803:Models, Economic; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000191:economics*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014852:Wales